Sunday, December 10, 2000
Crosstown Shootout preview
Another Muskies upset? Or will No. 18 UC prevail?
By Michael Perry
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout week has arrived. Get ready for some boasting from each side in the days leading up to Thursday's showdown between city rivals Cincinnati and Xavier (9 p.m., Shoemaker Center, ESPN).
On paper, the matchup looks as if it could go either way.Each team is trying to establish an identity. Individual players from each school have had highlights and lowlights. Nobody has played consistently well early in the season.
What will the mood of the town be like this week? Some of that is predictable.
Xavier fans will stick out their chests and crow about last year's upset over then-No.1 Cincinnati — its third victory in four years.
Bearcat fans will hold their heads high and talk of nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances and five consecutive top-12 finishes in the Associated Press poll.
XU fans will ask: “What's it like to be No.2 in the city?”
UC fans will ask: “What's it like playing in the NIT?”
On and on it will go.
UC (3-1) is ranked No.18 — its 50th straight week in the Associated Press poll; Xavier (5-2) has not been ranked since Nov.30, 1998.
But throw out the records and toss aside the rankings.
These questions persist:
• Which UC team will show up? The one that took over at Dayton in the final minutes of that 82-75 victory? Or the one that laid down and watched Notre Dame dominate the last five minutes in an 18-point loss in Indianapolis?
• 2>2 minutes against Marshall (10 points, five rebounds)?
Or will he disappear into foul-trouble oblivion as he did at Dayton, where he picked up No.4 with 12:54 remaining?
• Which Xavier team will show up? The one that ripped San Francisco 75-49 on Tuesday and hit 12 of 27 from 3-point range? Or the one that shot 27.3 percent in a 61-46 loss at Wisconsin and made just four of 20 shots from 3-point range?
• Will freshman forward Romain Sato score 17 points and grab 16 rebounds, as he did against Samford? Or will he take just three shots and total two points, as he did against the Badgers?
• Does experience matter? UC has three players who have appeared in Shootouts, totaling 75 minutes (Steve Logan 47 minutes in two games, Kenny Satterfield 26, Leonard Stokes two).
Xavier has seven players who have appeared in Shootouts, totaling 222 minutes (Maurice McAfee 49 minutes in three games, Kevin Frey and Lloyd Price 55 minutes each in two games, David West 33 minutes, Alvin Brown 15 in two games, Reggie Butler 14 in two games, Brandon McIntosh one).
The Musketeers can begin focusing on the Bearcats starting today. They lost at Princeton on Saturday night, are taking today off, then will have three days to practice for the Shootout.
UC plays host to Oakland on Monday night, then will have two days to get ready for the Musketeers. Which is better than last season, when they got home in the wee hours of the morning from Saint Louis, then had one day to practice for Xavier.
Take a deep breath. Exhale. Get ready for a week full of hoopla.
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Crosstown Shootout preview
